Put yourself in this position. You’re a student going to class, you study for a consecutive six hours, then head to work right after for a full eight-hour shift at Chipotle. Packed schedules and dealing with high-stress on a consistent basis can be the tipping point for a student to experience burnout.
The sad reality of our modern social construct in the U.S. means that many students work part time, if not, full time on top of balancing academics.
However, the fine act of balancing school and work comes with many disadvantages, affecting different branches of a student’s life beyond their studies.
One obvious impact is the increase in burnout that comes along with time constraints. Being a student while juggling different workload amounts from multiple courses can overwhelm anyone to the point of wanting to just give up. Having a job on top of it all doesn’t exactly help.
Another disadvantage of working while being in school is that it takes away a student’s much-needed leisure time.
We all know there isn’t enough time in a day to do whatever we want. We often have to sacrifice activities we want to do or attend for personal enjoyment in order to ensure there’s enough time to study for that test before that closing shift.
Not only are there people who have to miss out on these experiences, there are many students who must work for necessity. Some student employees have families to care for in addition to caring for themselves. Meanwhile people are really out here complaining about guac.
Overall, working as a student can be detrimental to one’s mental health. Yes, it’s important to maintain grades, study hard, and earn money from working. But self-care is just as important.
This can take form in a number of ways. This can include learning how to create a healthy balance between being a student whilst working at the same time, Getting a good planner to help visualize your schedule, and improving your time management skills.
These habits can help you stay on top of tasks so that you can make time for leisure activities and most importantly, maintain a healthy state of mind.
